The present invention relates to a communication device having a one-touch registration memory and a telephone directory data memory.
Conventionally, a communication device having one-touch dials to each of which a telephone number is assigned is known. When the one-touch dial key is operated, a call for the assigned telephone number is made. Specifically, in such a communication device, destination telephone numbers are stored, in a one-touch registration memory, in association with respective one-touch dials, and when one of the one-touch dials is operated by a user, the telephone number corresponding to the operated one-touch dial key is retrieved from the one-touch registration memory and the telephone call is made with respect to the retrieved telephone number. Examples of such a device include a telephone machine and a facsimile machine. Generally, to such one-touch dial keys, the telephone numbers which are more frequently used by the user may be assigned.
An example of a telephone number registering device used in the communication devices as described above is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Provisional Publication No. HEI4-78849. According to the publication, the telephone number registering device includes a telephone number memory that stores telephone numbers input through ten keys, a data memory that stores destination information including one-touch numbers or speed dial numbers of destinations, and a number registering system that copies the telephone numbers stored in the dial number memory into the data memory. The one-touch number which is not used (i.e., no telephone number is associated with the one-touch number) is searched in the data memory, and the telephone number stored in the dial number memory is copied in the data memory to associate with the unused (unregistered) one-touch dial number or speed dial number so that the telephone number is associated with the one-touch dial number or the speed dial number.
In the conventional telephone number registering device disclosed in the publication, if all the one-touch dial numbers in the data memory are associated with some telephone numbers, and if a new telephone number is to be associated with one of the one-touch dial numbers, one registered telephone number should be deleted.
Further, if a communication device (e.g., telephone or facsimile machine) is configured such that the one-touch numbers are stored separately from the telephone directory data and the telephone numbers associated with the one-touch numbers are not used as the telephone directory data, when the user intends to register one of the telephone numbers stored as the telephone directory data with a one-touch dial number and if all the one-touch dial numbers have been associated with telephone numbers, the user is required to manually register a telephone number assigned to one of the one-touch dial number with the telephone directory data before assigning the new telephone number to the one-touch dial number.